1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of communications. More particularly the invention comprises a method and system for anonymously establishing communications between two individuals, such as subscribers to a dating service.
2. Prior Art
As is well known, many people today are using data services to help find their significant other. For years, these people have been making videos and sending them to services to be looked at by other people interested in finding their match. With the introduction of the Internet into the household, many of these dating services have turned to the Internet for their clientele. There are quite a few of these Internet dating services, but they lack the true aspect of getting to know someone: talking to the person. The current sites allow a client to review personal information about other clients or look at pictures, but a person cannot get the real sense of another""s personality without speaking to the other person.
Many people who subscribe to a dating service would like to speak with the person they are interested in, but they do not want the person to know where they live or their telephone number until they are sure the person is safe. This is a major security issue. An anonymous interactive telephone system has been proposed for establishing a telephone connection between two individuals without divulging the identity or telephone number of either unless voluntarily revealed. Such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,847,890; 4,878,239; 5,058,152; 5,361,295; 5,623,536; 5,768,348 and 5,809,114, all of which are co-owned by The Telephone Connection. While the system disclosed in these patents preserves anonymity, it does not offer a subscriber the option of blocking access to the subscriber""s personal information or to the subscriber""s telephone.
The present invention provides an anonymous interactive Internet-based dating service allowing people to anonymously interact via Internet browsers, telephone communications and/or video conferencing. The system employs an interactive web site allowing a person to seek another person who may be compatible for a relationship. The system allows a member to post an ad describing themselves. The member can also post pictures, video clips or sound clips to go with his or her profile. The system then asks the member for an email address, which is used to forward email from interested parties. Upon verifying the email address, the system assigns the member a unique membership number and password. This is used for all further contact with the system""s central computer. The system also gives the member the option to allow other members to make contact via telephone or video conferencing. If the member enables this option, the member is asked for a series of times he or she wants associated to each number. All communications through the system are completely anonymous in that the searcher is never provided the member""s actual email address or phone numbers. Each member can choose to block access to his or her personal information by other members based on selection criteria and can likewise block access to the member""s email, phone or video conferencing service.